Down with Done with BTSA!
It's done. I have finally completed my BTSA (Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment) program!
I've actually had a bone to pick with the whole BTSA thing since I began the program last year. Why is so much time and money spent to re-teach teachers what they already learned in their university credential programs? And why did I have to lug around and complete the paperwork contained in a 4-inch thick binder, only to have the BTSA office (who gave me the binder and paperwork in the first place) say, "Oh, we don't need to see that!" I've been compiling that data for 2 years!!! You're darn well gonna see it, and you'll "ooohhh" and "ahhhh" in all the appropriate places, thankyouverymuch.
Today was the last step in the two-year BTSA process. I had to go for a formal exit interview in front of a panel, where I was expected to explain my teaching practices, show growth over time, and provide student work to serve as evidence of my status as a "highly qualified educator." I carefully prepared my responses, typing notes and selecting student work that I felt would wonderfully illustrate the teaching practices I was explaining. I spent 2 years collecting this student work, much of which went into the binder the BTSA people so cavalierly tossed aside. I also took the day off to prepare for my interview this afternoon and make any last minute tweaks to my responses.
Then I learned that "everyone passes" the interview. Which begs the question, "Why the hell do I have to do it then?" If everyone passes, what's the point of even conducting these interviews? *sigh* It is probably just another box for the BTSA people to check off their list.
Well, at least now all my boxes are checked and I can send payment to the state of California to clear my teaching credential. Just in time to be laid off due to state budget cuts. Yippee.
P.S. I don't mean to sound bitter, but I might be. Just a little.
I've actually had a bone to pick with the whole BTSA thing since I began the program last year. Why is so much time and money spent to re-teach teachers what they already learned in their university credential programs? And why did I have to lug around and complete the paperwork contained in a 4-inch thick binder, only to have the BTSA office (who gave me the binder and paperwork in the first place) say, "Oh, we don't need to see that!" I've been compiling that data for 2 years!!! You're darn well gonna see it, and you'll "ooohhh" and "ahhhh" in all the appropriate places, thankyouverymuch.
Today was the last step in the two-year BTSA process. I had to go for a formal exit interview in front of a panel, where I was expected to explain my teaching practices, show growth over time, and provide student work to serve as evidence of my status as a "highly qualified educator." I carefully prepared my responses, typing notes and selecting student work that I felt would wonderfully illustrate the teaching practices I was explaining. I spent 2 years collecting this student work, much of which went into the binder the BTSA people so cavalierly tossed aside. I also took the day off to prepare for my interview this afternoon and make any last minute tweaks to my responses.
Then I learned that "everyone passes" the interview. Which begs the question, "Why the hell do I have to do it then?" If everyone passes, what's the point of even conducting these interviews? *sigh* It is probably just another box for the BTSA people to check off their list.
Well, at least now all my boxes are checked and I can send payment to the state of California to clear my teaching credential. Just in time to be laid off due to state budget cuts. Yippee.
P.S. I don't mean to sound bitter, but I might be. Just a little.
Sounds like bitterness well earned. I hope you insisted they look at the darn folder!!!
woo-hoo slacker ;) - right back at ya!
Bureaucracy (did I spell that right?!?) at it's finest! Glad it's over for you. Now at least you can be unemployed with a free mind.
Does it make you feel better that I had to do the same thing because someone in HRS forgot that I have not cleared it yet? Six years of teaching and I had to "reflect " on my growth. I won't go there.
Ugh, Irma. Love those hoops California makes you jump through!
Is BTSA a CA thing? 'Cause I'm less and less impressed with their educational practices...
One of my little gems this year arrived in January from CA. Her records made her sound like a genius! But, while she could decode way above grade level, she wasn't reading with comprehension. We has to move her way back--and she's so much happier! When asked what she's miss when she goes back next year, she said she'd miss me (aww) and "hard math". All they did in her old school was drill basic facts--no application, no logical thinking, no problem solving...
Come to Russia, Jenni. ;>